Manchester Memoirs, Vol. xlviii. (1904), No. 35. 15 



field,' showing that the 'growth' referred to in this prayer 

 must rather have referred to the produce of her fields 

 than to the one making the request.* 



The lines which follow seem to speak of Tammuz as 

 he who had brought brightness to the suppliant, who 

 (had the restorer of abundance after the unfruitful season 

 of winter not returned) would have been in woeful case. 

 The same theme is continued in the three lines of the 

 next section, with which the column closes. It is to be 

 noted that the suppliant here, as in other places, identifies 

 herself with Istar, whose spouse Tammuz was. 



The last column is unfortunately too mutilated by a 

 crack (which has damaged no less than 13 lines) to enable 

 much to be made out of it, and I defer, therefore, for the 

 present, any attempt to make a complete translation. 

 Judging from what remains after the second division-line, 

 however, it seems to contain an address to Istar, the 

 spouse of Tammuz. The following will serve to show 

 that it resembles closely the portion already translated: — 



6. My lady, he hath been taken away, bring him back. 



7. Say, O Istar, ' Return, man who bringelh plenty.' 



8. From the waters of night who will bring him back to day ? 



9. Istar will bring back him who was imprisoned in that 



land, 

 10. Lingering but free, returning alive. 



24. Hurrah, the spell is destroyed, the spell is destroyed ! 



25. Shout, lost one of Nana, lord, husband, the barrier, the 



spell, is destroyed, the spell is destroyed. 



* The word which I have translated "increase" is the common root su^ 

 the Semitic erebu, " to increase," which occurs as the last component element 

 of the ideographic writing of the name Sennacherib, namely, Sin-ahe-eriba, 

 "the moongod has increased the brothers " The temple of Tammuz at 

 Agade, where Istar was likewise worshipped, was called E-su-gala, "the 

 temple of the great increase." 



